A Full Net

I'm thinking about the disciples who spent the night out fishing and caught nothing. How often do we feel discouraged when the goals haven't been met, the situation hasn't been changed, and all our efforts seems to be wasted? We can work all night if we are promised that full net of fish. But without any catch...

Then comes a voice across the waters to us. "No success? Cast your net on the right side and you will find." Try again? What difference will it make? 

It wasn't time to argue - just to believe and obey the promise. And as the net filled, it was time to recognize the One they had been seeking all along. The Master. It wasn't the fish they had really been wanting after all, it was the knowledge that their lives had purpose and that they heard Jesus voice once again, knew His approval, and could show their love for Him. 

Maybe you would throw yourself into the sea like Peter, or like the rest of the disciples, drag in the full net of fish. Jesus was pleased with both responses. After all, He has a purpose for both the impetuous and the steady in His work. The question really is, do we love Him most? Are we after the full net - or knowing that we have obeyed His voice and delighted in His will? 

It has been good to hear brother Lawrence's report of how the Lord has blessed their "casting out the net again" in his recent trip to the coast. The call to come help with a funeral service hadn't looked promising - there wasn't even funds to cover his travel expenses and the last news of the Malindi congregation had been disheartening. But the minister felt compelled to go, and God has multiplied the blessings. He shares: 

"Thank you very much Dear Ones for prayers. I am now back at Makindu and gratefully rejoicing over God's gracious dealings at the Coast. [A fallen minister] was at the altar of prayer weeping and asking God to forgive Him. He asked others, too, to forgive him and is now ready to make restitution. Please, remember him, and also his wife, in prayer. Both had backslid and wept as they prayed for forgiveness. 

[North of Malindi] there are other congregations budding up each with an average of 40 adults. Mpeketoni is a small town that has mushroomed recently in the northern coast of Kenya and is closer to Lamu. God has given us a favor in the area and quite a good number are getting saved. The immigrant population in the area is very hungry for more of God... [several] are quick to embrace truth. I have not been in a place so favored with zeal, humility, and the love for God. It is wonderful... Surely the grace of God is enough for me. Praise the Lord. Please, pray for the seekers of the truth in the area. We need to teach and feed these people. Please, pray on."

    
Do we also know Jesus as the source and meaning of our efforts today? May we leave all our prejudice, our fears, our failings, our cares and trust Him to be the Master of our lives. Then we can cast out the net at His bidding and bring the catch to Him. Does it matter whether we have little or much to show for our labor? Jesus is working out His purposes and what a joy it is to follow Him!

Image courtesy of noomhh / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ask ye of the Lord

"Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain..." Zech. 10:1

Why should we be asking for things that seem normal and expected? That is a question worth pondering. As I read the following verse, the truth started to sink in: "For the idols have spoken vanity." How often do we really consider how dependent we are on the Creator and Sustainer of the universe? In our modern self-sufficiency, we don't even turn to idols for our answers... or do we? In the basic sense of the word, anything we esteem more than God is an idol. My financial resources, my friends and supporters, my own reasoning and abilities to "make things happen" can easily become my idol. But what they promise me is deceiving. They can't give me what I really need in life. Not even basic, simple things - like rain. How wonderful to realize that it is my privilege to ask God to provide for the common and daily needs I face! And to believe that He will give me what is best. 

 "Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain, so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field." Zech. 10:1

November is the "rainy season" for the Kenyan savannahs, but this blessing is not taken for granted. At the end of the month, brother Lawrence was thankful to report: "It has been a very busy, but very wet, week here. Even now, as I write, the clouds are heavy with rains hovering over us. Praise the Lord. I have never seen Makindu so favored before. It is a great answer to prayers of a long time.  Please, join us in thanking and praising the Lord for this."

Rain is their hope for food next year - if they can get seeds to plant crops. This need also has been met, as he shares, "God has moved so graciously through some organizations that aid the semi-arid areas [in providing seed] for the brethren at Kitui, Meru south, and even here at Makindu." But planting isn't enough. Past years have brought crop failures because the fields have become parched in the dry spring weather. As the crops grow, let us be asking the LORD for the rains needed to keep them alive until harvest! 

Another need has arisen with the rainy season. Lawrence says, "Bro. Edward's congregation [in the Mount Kenya area] is in a real problem with their roof destroyed by the rains. ...They need [a large sum] for the roofing and pillars for the house of worship. They can fill up the walls gradually when the roof is on and they are safe from the rains. We expect the rains to go on up to the end of December in their area. We are doing all we can to help, but in a very negligible way. If there is any one who can hep in this urgent need, we will be very grateful. But God moves wonderfully in answer to prayer. 

"Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit." (1Thes. 5:17-19).